Lake Visit

April 22, 2008

I have been meaning to post for a few days now, but time seems to slip away too quickly. I long for a time long gone by when the daily pace was much slower… Ah, well, I have stolen a few minutes from my hectic day to stop and post. Here is my humble offering for today…

Last week the kids had been bugging to do something “fun.” The whole family, except for me, had a lovely cold last week, so we had spent most of the week at home. By the end of the week, everyone, except for me, was going stir crazy. Jeff suggested a journey to the lake shore, so off we went to a local park where the river empties into the lake. It was just before sunset, so I got some gorgeous (IMHO) pictures.

As we began walking out on the pier, this sailboat was coming in to dock for the night.

This view is looking up the river. The people on the right side of the photo were fishing and had caught a reasonably sized fish. As I went to photograph it, I found I had turned my camera off and just missed a “perfect shot.” At first I was disappointed, then I watched in horror as they unhooked the fish, dropped it on the ground, picked it up and lobbed it, as one might lobbed a softball for slow-pitch, back in the river. What makes people so thoughtless and cruel? I can’t imagine the fish faired too well after a 15 foot belly-flop into the water!

There were many Mallard ducks along the rocks next to the pier. This pair must have a nest nearby, as neither was in a big hurry to leave. The female sat, or stood, in the same spot and the drake swam back and forth near her, seeming to keep a watchful eye on everything.

Someone began throwing bread into the water, which caused quite a stir. The gulls began circling and diving for their fair share of the booty. Here is a gull that actually landed as it grabbed its tasty morsel.

As we continued along the pier, on the side opposite the river outlet, an eerie fog set in. This boat looked as though it was floating in thin air. This picture does not do the scene justice, as it was nearly impossible to actually discern the water from the sky while we were standing there.

We walked quite a ways out onto the pier, until I got tired and Erin got cold. It was significantly cooler at the lake than at home and Erin was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. As skinny as she is, she doesn’t hold body heat well, so she got quite chilly. As we headed back to the car, I couldn’t help but capture this photo of the sun beginning to set. It was so bright, I had to focus on the water, look away, lift the camera slightly and hope for the best. I was rather impressed with the two shots I got. This is the better one.

As we neared the end of our walk, Sarah spotted this spider building a web on a railing. Jeff asked if I had a macro lens, then realizing I don’t, asked if I thought I could get a decent shot anyway. As you can see from the blur on a couple of the legs, this spider was busily working away. I guess this is a decent shot…

The more I use my Nikon and learn about it, mostly through trial and error, the more impressed I am with it. My kids laugh at me as we get ready to go places now. The camera bag has become my “purse,” going almost everywhere that I go.

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One comment

Great photos, Carly! I love the boat pics…they are soothing. And of course, ducks rank up there really high in my list of fun things to photograph as well! Too bad about the fish…must have been some reason for not keepng it, but I wouldn’t understand, I think! The sunset is terrific. as is the spider! (eww…did I *say* that?)